The article starts with this line:

PRAY tell, why does Lara Bingle feel the need to go out in public without a bra?

And honestly, I was so mad I wanted to stop reading it right then and there. It goes on to criticise Lara Bingle for various public appearances where she has dared to appear wearing clothes apparently without a bra underneath.

This kind of body shaming has a really sour tone to it, even more so when you take into account it is written by a woman to attack another woman. The author acknowledges it is a trivial complaint- but I don’t think this is a trivial issue. From a young age, we, as women, are pressured to look a certain way, dress a certain way and made to feel that anything outside these arbitrary parameters is negative.

I have had enough.

To the writer of this dreadful piece of body-shaming, I would like to say the following:

Bras are optional. They are not a legal requirement. It is of no consequence to you what Lara Bingle or anyone else wears under their clothes. You are reinforcing the view that others have a right to govern or judge what a woman does with her body. The bit where you imply she has had breast enlargement surgery? Not cool. Every body is different. Maybe hers are natural and do sit up that high- she is in her twenties and hasn’t had children, it’s not unheard of. Even if you are correct- again- what Lara Bingle chooses to do with her body, be it surgery or no bra, is her prerogative and no one else’s business. You say you find it it “odd” that she “feels the need to bare-breast it” but she didn’t bare-breast it. That would mean her breasts were bare. They were not. So you can quit finding it odd, because that’s not what happened here. If she does “feel the need” to bare her breasts somewhere where it is permissible for her to do so, good for her. If you still find it odd, that is your prerogative, but it is not Lara’s problem. What would be awesome would be to see less body shaming and more positivity and acceptance of all body shapes, sizes, clothing styles and what have you. We’re women; we should be on the same side. If that is to be true, it would be a good idea to stop tearing each other down, especially when we know it’s “trivial”.